James Legge's translation of the I Ching is the standard against which all later editions of this timeless oracle have been judged. Part divination system, part guide to living a superior life, the I Ching can help you divine your way in this complicated world. Join the millions of people who have already experienced this mystic way.

Lao Tzu was the father of Taoism. In his "Tao Te Ching," Lao Tzu outlined the basic concept of Tao. Chuang Tzu and Lieh Tzu were Lao Tzu's most important followers who expounded and expanded the basic principles set forth by Lao Tzu. Together, the sayings of these three sages, which make up this volume, are the foundations for the philosophy of Tao.

The translations of the works of these ancient Chinese sages by Lionel Giles and Herbert Giles are very highly regarded and considered by many to be the definitive English translations. Lionel's translation of "The Sayings of Lao Tzu" (1905), taken from the "Tao Te Ching" and logically re-ordered, is remarkable for its clarity of expression, particularly given the complexity of the subject. Herbert's translation of "The Sayings of Chuang Tzu," presented here, with an introduction by Lionel, was originally published as "Musings of a Chinese Mystic" (1906). Lionel's translation of "The Sayings of Lieh Tzu" was originally published as "The Book of Lieh Tzu, or Teachings in Taoism" (1912).

Individually the works of these Chinese sages are classics. Together, they are a master resource of the history of Tao.

Contents Include CONFUCIANISM Confucius and the Confucian School Religious Ideas of the Confucian Classes Confucian Ethics Modern Confucianism TAOISM Lao-tzu The Tao-Teth-Ching Later Taoist Writers Modern TaoismKeywords: Confucian Ethics Confucian School Lao Tzu Confucianism Taoism Religious Ideas Confucius Taoist Tao

Confucianism is the foundation of Chinese culture, just as Christianity is the foundation of Western culture. The father-son relationship is at the center of Confucian thinking and the ethical natural relationship is the model for other familial, social, and political relationships. The divine father-son relationship between God and Jesus is at the center of Christian consideration and likewise is the model of Christian familial, social, and political relationships. To date, scholarship has opined that the Confucian father-son relationship established on a consanguineous basis has no comparable aspects with the spiritual based Christian divine father-son relationship. The author provides a compelling argument, backed up by focused scriptural and religious readings, to overturn this longstanding perception. The particular appeal of this book is to offer a religious and cultural comparative study from this most cardinal and crucial relationship, through the study of Xunzi and Paul, two r

The term Yao refers to a non-sinitic speaking, southern "Chinese" people who originated in central China, south of the Yangzi River. Despite categorization by Chinese and Western scholars of Yao as an ethnic minority with a primitive culture, it is now recognized that not only are certain strains of religious Daoism prominent in Yao ritual traditions, but the Yao culture also shares many elements with pre-modern official and mainstream Chinese culture. This book is the first to furnish a history-part cultural, part political, and part religious-of contacts between the Chinese state and autochthonous peoples (identified since the 11th century as Yao people) in what is now South China. It vividly details the influence of Daoism on the rich history and culture of the Yao people. The book also includes an examination of the specific terminology, narratives, and symbols (Daoist/ imperial) that represent and mediate these contacts. "This is an important piece of work on a little studied, but very interesting subject, namely, Taoism among the non-Sinitic peoples of South China and adjoining areas." - Professor Victor Mair, University of Pennsylvania "This brilliant study by Eli Alberts has now cleared away much of the cloud that has been caused by previous, mostly impressionistic scholarship on the "Dao of the Yao." - Professor Barend J.ter Haar, Leiden University

1935. In 1912 Hepner was ordained and commissioned by the Board of Foreign Missions of The United Synod South as a Missionary to Japan. During his tenure there he acquired an unusual facility both in speaking and reading Japanese. Within a few years, he decided on Shinto as his special field of study and thus began the study that lead to this publication. This volume contains Hepner's dissertation on the Kurozumi Sect, which introduces academic circles of the Occident to the Culture Religion State of Shinto, and makes a valuable contribution in the field of Comparative Religion.

1905. This work comprises an outline theory of the origin and earlier stages of the development of religion, prepared with special reference to the Shinto evidence. Contents: Materials for the Study of Shinto; General Features-Personification; General Features-Deification of Men; General Features-Functions of Gods, etc.; Myth; The Mythical Narrative; The Pantheon-Nature-Deities; The Pantheon-Man-Deities; The Priesthood; Worship; Morals, Law and Purity; Ceremonial; Magic, Divination, Inspiration; and Decay of Shinto. Modern Sects.

This book presents, for the first time, a collection of ancient Japanese Shinto prayers in a format where English speaking readers can both understand the deep meaning of the translated text and can also pronounce the original Japanese words.
Shinto is an ancient spiritual tradition, primarily practiced in Japan, which is now spreading its traditions to the western world. Its primordial rituals and traditions touch a deep chord within one's spiritual self. Shinto's focus on divinity of all beings and of all creation, on living with gratitude and humility, and on purification and lustration of one's self and environment will bring light and joy to any reader.
The purpose of prayer and ritual as practiced in the Shinto tradition, is to reinsert ourselves into a divine state of being, not as a new position, but as an acknowledgement and reinforcement of what already exists. Ritual restores sensitive awareness to our relationship to the universe. Through purification and removal of impurities and blockages, we return to our innate internal brightness and cultivate a demeanor of gratitude and joy.
Shinto rituals and prayers were created by ancient man over 2,000 years ago in a time when mankind was more intuitive about his relationship to this world. Because of this, the rites are archetypal and invoke deep emotion within the participants.
This book of prayers will introduce the western reader to the deep spirituality of Shinto, providing explanation of the spiritual tradition and practice and providing a collection of 22 prayers for use in personal meditation and devotions.
Order a perfect bound version of Shinto Norito

The Economic Principles of Confucius and His School is a unique work. The author, Chen Huan-Chang, was a civil servant in the last years of the Qing Empire. After a traditional education in classical Chinese, Chen befriended and became a student of the great reforming scholar and leader Kang Yu-wei, who deepened and broadened his knowledge of Confucianism. Finally, he went to the USA and took a Ph.D. in economics at Columbia University, studying with such noted names as Edwin Seligman and John Bates Clark, producing his Ph.D. and this book in the very year of the collapse of the Chinese Empire, 1911. Uniquely, Chen was trained in both classical and reformist Chinese schools and Western economic thought. It is from this perspective that he produced The Economic Principles of Confucius and His School, a meticulous comparison and contrasting of classical Chinese and classical Western economic doctrines. His reformist position means that he does not automatically defend Chinese doctrines, yet he considers them to be strong and important and does not advocate their replacement with Western models of thought, as some other Chinese reformers of his day did. This two-volume work gives an extremely detailed account of economic thinking in China before the 1911 Revolution. Chen includes not only the Confucians but also accounts of Daoist, Mohist, Legalist and many other schools. Even today, no other study of this depth has ever been produced in English, and much of what Chen describes is still highly relevant in modern times.

The Economic Principles of Confucius and His School is a unique work. The author, Chen Huan-Chang, was a civil servant in the last years of the Qing Empire. After a traditional education in classical Chinese, Chen befriended and became a student of the great reforming scholar and leader Kang Yu-wei, who deepened and broadened his knowledge of Confucianism. Finally, he went to the USA and took a Ph.D. in economics at Columbia University, studying with such noted names as Edwin Seligman and John Bates Clark, producing his Ph.D. and this book in the very year of the collapse of the Chinese Empire, 1911. Uniquely, Chen was trained in both classical and reformist Chinese schools and Western economic thought. It is from this perspective that he produced The Economic Principles of Confucius and His School, a meticulous comparison and contrasting of classical Chinese and classical Western economic doctrines. His reformist position means that he does not automatically defend Chinese doctrines, yet he considers them to be strong and important and does not advocate their replacement with Western models of thought, as some other Chinese reformers of his day did. This two-volume work gives an extremely detailed account of economic thinking in China before the 1911 Revolution. Chen includes not only the Confucians but also accounts of Daoist, Mohist, Legalist and many other schools. Even today, no other study of this depth has ever been produced in English, and much of what Chen describes is still highly relevant in modern times.

1936. Confucius Said It First is the result of the author's conversation with the former president of a men's club near Boston. Dr. Hsieh was talking to the ex-president about great teachers and in the course of the conversation had dwelt at length on Confucius. Yes, said the Boston suburbanite, Confucius was indeed a great master. He was Italian was he not? Following this, Hsieh hurried to his home and dug out his articles on the sayings of Confucius, which were published in Colliers and reprinted in the Reader's Digest. He took them to the best Boston publishers and had them republished as this volume. It is a wonderful little book that you can slip into your pocket and, in subways, taxis, arm chairs and bed, discover that Confucius wasn't Italian and that he said, first, many of the words of wisdom that are still most honorable guide posts to peaceful and happy living. Contents: Confucius Said It First; Confucius Holds Mirror to Life; Sayings of Confucius; and Chinese Proverbs.

It is the solitary purpose of this work to place back on this beautiful text flesh and blood so readers of today may feel and see and touch and know the wisdom and peace expressed so very long ago. The world of the twenty-first century is not the same as China in 300 BCE, but there remain common threads connecting mankind throughout the ages. In these threads we find a way to fully express and connect the depth of the Tao Te Ching to a modern age without compromising its ancient meaning.

The Master said, 'Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application? 'Is it not delightful to have friends coming from distant quarters? 'Is he not a man of complete virtue, who feels no discomposure though men may take no note of him?" The philosopher Yu said, 'They are few who, being filial and fraternal, are fond of offending against their superiors. There have been none, who, not liking to offend against their superiors, have been fond of stirring up confusion.

Confucius did not regard himself as an innovator, but as the conservator of ancient truth and ceremonial propriety. He dealt with neither theology nor metaphysics, but with moral and political conduct. The Lun Yu, Analects or Sayings of Confucius, were probably compiled, says Legge, "by the disciples of the disciples of the sage, making free use of the written memorials concerning him which they had received, and the oral statements which they had heard, from their several masters. And we shall not be far wrong, if we determine its date as about the beginning of the third, or the end of the fourth century before Christ."

Ancestral ritual in early China was an orchestrated dance between what was present (the offerings and the living) and what was absent (the ancestors). The interconnections among the tangible elements of the sacrifice were overt and almost mechanical, but extending those connections to the invisible guests required a medium that was itself invisible. Thus in early China, ancestral sacrifice was associated with focused thinking about the ancestors, with a structured mental effort by the living to reach out to the absent forebears and to give them shape and existence. Thinking about the ancestors-about those who had become distant-required active deliberation and meditation, qualities that had to be nurtured and learned. This study is a history of the early Chinese ancestral cult, particularly its cognitive aspects. Its goals are to excavate the cult's color and vitality and to quell assumptions that it was no more than a simplistic and uninspired exchange of food for longevity, of prayers for prosperity. Ancestor worship was not, the author contends, merely mechanical and thoughtless. Rather, it was an idea system that aroused serious debates about the nature of postmortem existence, served as the religious backbone to Confucianism, and may even have been the forerunner of Daoist and Buddhist meditation practices.

Throughout history, numerous scholars and intellectuals have tried to define Confucianism one way or another. Despite their efforts, the voices of those who claim to have found the essence of Confucianism are as much at odds as ever. A Topography of Confucian Discourse analyzes Confucian discussion in diverse historical settings, examining how Confucianism has served the different purposes of biased interpreters and how they have manipulated Confucian discourse. To explore their hidden desires, Lee Seung-hwan critically observes various historical contexts in which people interpreted Confucianism: in the heyday of the Jesuit Missionaries, the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, the period of Western Imperialism, late twentieth-century postmodern America, Tokugawa Japan, Choson Korea, China, Taiwan, South Korea, as well as Singapore. The author successfully historicizes Confucian discourse, explaining why, against a certain political background, a certain view on Confucianism has to arise. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Lee Seung-hwan received his PhD from the University of Hawaii. A professor of philosophy at Korea University, Lee has authored several books including The Sociopolitical Re-illumination of Confucian Thought and The Exchange of E-Mail between the West and the East for 127 Days. Lee has been known as a progressive philosopher of Chinese philosophy and has dealt with the inherent conflicts in liberal political thought. ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR Jaeyoon Song is a PhD candidate at Harvard University and is interested in Chinese intellectual history and philosophy. He is currently working on Song discourse on government, especially the rise of a proto-constitutional debate in Southern Song China.

Stephen Eskildsen's book offers an in-depth study of the beliefs and practices of the Quanzhen (Complete Realization) School of Taoism, the predominant school of monastic Taoism in China.The Quanzhen School was founded in the latter half of the twelfth century by the eccentric holy man Wan Zhe (1113-1170), whose work was continued by his famous disciples commonly known as the Seven Realized Ones.This study draws upon surviving texts to examine the Quanzhen masters'approaches to mental discipline, intense asceticism, cultivation of health and longevity, mystical experience, supernormal powers, views of death and dying, charity and evangelism, and ritual. From these primary sources, Eskildsen provides a clear understanding of the nature of Quanzhen Taoism and reveals its core emphasis to be the cultivation of clarity and purity of mind that occurs not only through seated meditation, but also throughout the daily activities of life.

Daoist Body Cultivation is a comprehensive volume by a group of dedicated scholars and practitioners that covers the key practices of medical healing, breathing techniques, diets and fasting, healing exercises, sexual practices, Qigong, and Taiji quan. Each presentation places the practice in its historical and cultural context and relates its current application and efficaciousness. Ultimately aiming to energetically transform the person into a spiritual and trancendent being, Daoist cultivation techniques have proven beneficial for health time and again and can make an important contribution in the world today. Daoist Body Cultivation provides a deeper understanding of the practices in their cultural and historical contexts, bridging the gap between healing and religion and allowing both scholars and practitioner to reach a deeper understanding and appreciation.

Discusses the historical development of Korean Confucianism in terms of its social functions. This book examines the types of transfiguration Confucianism underwent and the role it played in each period of Korean history. It spans from the Three Kingdoms period (18 BCE to 660 CE) to the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910).

Now the question arises, If all human beings are endowed with Buddha-nature, why have they not come naturally to be Enlightened? To answer this question, the Indian Mahayanists told the parable of the drunkard who forgets the precious gems put in his own pocket by one of his friends. The man is drunk with the poisonous liquor of selfishness, led astray by the alluring sight of the sensual objects, and goes mad with anger, lust, and folly. Thus he is in a state of moral poverty, entirely forgetting the precious gem of Buddha-nature within him. -from "The Nature of Man" There are, unknown to many Western minds, two schools of Buddhist thought: the Theravada, the one Westerners are generally more familiar with, and the Mahayanistic, or Zen, philosophy, which is still a great mystery even to occidental explorers of world religions. This 1913 book, one of the first works on Zen written in the English language, examines the Zen mode of meditation, which is virtually unchanged from the practices of the pre-Buddhistic recluses of India, and discusses the intensely personal aspects of this branch of Buddhism, which stresses the passing of wisdom through teachers rather than Scripture. Ardently spiritual and beautifully reflective, this splendid book will be treasured by all seekers of the divine. KAITEN NUKARIYA was a professor at Kei-o-gi-jiku University and So-to-shu Buddhist College, Tokyo.

Now the question arises, If all human beings are endowed with Buddha-nature, why have they not come naturally to be Enlightened? To answer this question, the Indian Mahayanists told the parable of the drunkard who forgets the precious gems put in his own pocket by one of his friends. The man is drunk with the poisonous liquor of selfishness, led astray by the alluring sight of the sensual objects, and goes mad with anger, lust, and folly. Thus he is in a state of moral poverty, entirely forgetting the precious gem of Buddha-nature within him. -from "The Nature of Man" There are, unknown to many Western minds, two schools of Buddhist thought: the Theravada, the one Westerners are generally more familiar with, and the Mahayanistic, or Zen, philosophy, which is still a great mystery even to occidental explorers of world religions. This 1913 book, one of the first works on Zen written in the English language, examines the Zen mode of meditation, which is virtually unchanged from the practices of the pre-Buddhistic recluses of India, and discusses the intensely personal aspects of this branch of Buddhism, which stresses the passing of wisdom through teachers rather than Scripture. Ardently spiritual and beautifully reflective, this splendid book will be treasured by all seekers of the divine. KAITEN NUKARIYA was a professor at Kei-o-gi-jiku University and So-to-shu Buddhist College, Tokyo.

1929. This volume consists of five books entitled: The Youth of the Wise Men; Confucius Weds; Confucius and Lao-Tsze; Confucius as Counsellor; and The Old Age of the Wise Men. See other works available by this author from Kessinger Publishing.

1912. Contents: Cosmogony; The Yellow Emperor; Dreams; Confucius; The Questions of T_Ang; Effort and Destiny; and Causality.